cannabisnews.com: Easing Nausea for Cancer Patients 





Easing Nausea for Cancer Patients 
Posted by FoM on February 07, 2001 at 12:43:47 PT
By Janice Billingsley, HealthScout Reporter 
Source: HealthScout
Scientists have found out which part of marijuana eases nausea, and discovering this component may make chemotherapy a lot more bearable for cancer patients, a new study shows. By isolating the receptor through which marijuana suppresses vomiting, called cannabinoid 1 (CB1), scientists can now develop synthetic drugs that mimic the benefits of marijuana without the side effects of the illegal drug, says the study's author. 
"We hope to develop synthetic drugs that don't produce the [marijuana] high, but do produce anti-vomiting effects," says Nissar A. Darmani, a pharmacology professor at the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri. The study, which appears in this month's Neuropsychopharmacology, was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health. "It's a long way down the road," says Dr. William Ensminger, a pharmacology professor at the University of Michigan. "But I'm sure that if it could be developed to arrive at a pharmacological product that it would be valuable. We have a lot of drugs for chemotherapy nausea that are fairly good, but there are still 20 percent of patients that really need something beyond what we currently have." Darmani used shrews, which are the smallest animals to have vomiting tendencies, to conduct a series of experiments to identify which component of marijuana quells nausea. "This is the first study to show that the anti-vomiting effect is probably [due to] the CB1 receptor," he says. While marijuana has been used to ease the nausea of chemotherapy, it can also cause memory loss, reduced motor activity and reduced body temperature, Darmani says. Use of the illegal drug for medicinal purposes has had a long and controversial history, with a number of states supporting its use despite a federal ban. Last November, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the prohibition and a decision is expected in July. What To Do: For a state-by-state breakdown on marijuana policy for medicinal purposes, see the Marijuana Policy Project. For a review of research on the medicinal uses of marijuana, see Health Canada. Note: Scientists isolate anti-vomiting component of marijuana. Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Health Canadahttp://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/Source: HealthScoutAuthor: Janice Billingsley, HealthScout Reporter Published: February 7, 2001Copyright © 2001 Rx Remedy, Inc. Website: http://www.healthscout.com/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #13 posted by Stripey on February 10, 2001 at 18:52:10 PT
THIS is the pertinant sentence. . .
By isolating the receptor through which marijuana suppresses vomiting, called cannabinoid 1 (CB1), scientists can now develop synthetic drugs that mimic the benefits of marijuana without the side effects of the illegal drug, says the study's author.I'm no scientist, but this sentence, in speaking of the receptor, leads me to believe it's the brain's piece, not the mj's. I think the reporter wasn't informed enough about biochemistry and neurotransmitters/cannabinoid compounds to turn a scientific report into a readable article.Does this seem right to anyone else?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by Dan B on February 08, 2001 at 07:22:23 PT:
Here's What Messed Up My Thinking:
"Scientists have found out which part of marijuana eases nausea, and discovering this component may make chemotherapy a lot more bearable for cancer patients, a new study shows."In fact, this sentence is wrong. They didn't discover which part of marijuana eases pain, they discovered which part of the brain receives the anti-emetic agent in marijuana.Dan B
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by Dan B on February 08, 2001 at 07:19:06 PT:
My bad--Thanks for the info.
Okay, I must have misread the article. I'll try to be more careful. Hmmm . . . now my message really looks foolish. Oh well, it was bound to happen sometime (after hundreds of posts).Dan B
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by Stripey on February 07, 2001 at 20:43:39 PT
Dan B. . .
CB1 is refering to the cannabinoid receptor in the brain. This study was just locating the particular receptors in the brain, so they can make something to stimulate them and not the "high" receptors. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by DontArrestMe on February 07, 2001 at 18:35:26 PT
My thoughts
Let me start out by saying that I am pro-legalization. However, I am refraining from attacking these efforts. For a long time, researchers have been trying to create an opioid painkiller that does not cause euphoria and dependence. Heroin was the 1st effort, then synthetics such as demerol and methadone. All efforts thus far have failed to yield a potent pain reliever without a high abuse potential. Now, before I get flamed, let me state that obviously, in the mean time, the opiates are still prescribed to people who need them (supposedly) with full knowledge of the potential for dependence. As such, medical marijuana should be available in the mean time for people who need it, regardless of the alleged abuse potential(which pales in comparison to even weak opiates like codeine). People shouldn't have to suffer while drugs without abuse potential are being researched; it is not in their best interest. However, research for euphoria free agents for nausea and such should continue because some people would benefit from nausea relief without the high. The bottom line is that the NIDA stance on mmj is juvenile and self-serving. The patient is not what they really care about. They just don't want to admit that mj has a medicinal value.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by Dan B on February 07, 2001 at 18:22:48 PT:
CB-1...What About THC?
I find it interesting that these supposedly "enlightened" researchers have been suggesting pill-form THC (Marinol) for the reduction of nausea all this time when, low and behold--it isn't THC after all, but CB-1 that reduces nausea.Either CB-1 is a renaming of THC (courtesy NIDA's Minister of Propaganda) carefully planned to make people think that "suddenly" the antis have an "answer to" the high that so many cancer and AIDS patients benefit from, or they deliberately promoted an ineffective anti-emetic as an alternative to raw marijuana. Either way, they made a serious miscalculation if they think we won't capitalize on this added evidence of their callous, heartless, downright sadistic and cruel attitude toward sick and dying people. They have just given us another nail for their coffins. Spread the word; the U. S. government has been passing off ineffective antiemetics to terminally ill cancer and AIDS patients!These people are not only pathetically hateful; they're pathetically stupid.Dan B
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by kaptinemo on February 07, 2001 at 17:42:52 PT:
Uh-oh, brainfart approaching
Let's see. I wonder how boozers would feel about the following...From the Daily Blah-Blah:"Researchers have long known of the health enhancing, arteriosclerosis dampening effects of small doses of alcohol as contained in low-alcoholic beverages such as wine. Today, researchers at the National Institute of Dimwitted Antis have revealled that they have isolated the neuronal receptors in the brain responsible for the subjective pleasurable experiences reported by social drinkers of alcoholic beverages. The researchers have dubbed this site in the brain the Sh**Faced region, after the condition that many people find themselves in after inbibing.It is claimed by the staff at NIDA that with molecular tinkering, they have created a substance that will provide all the healthful benefits of occasional 'social' tippling, cardio-vascular wise, but without the taste, smell, etc. of presently available alcoholic beverages.The new compound will also not allow the receptors in the SF area to uptake alcohol, thus preventing the user from experiencing the (whisper it) 'high' usually associated with alcohol consumption.Plans are underway at the highest levels of government to force those producers of alcoholic beverages to cease their production, and to only market the new 'synthahol'.Those who have participated in the double blind studies which included actual alcoholic beverages, the new compound, and a placebo, said that they had little trouble identifying the actual compound, however. One participant in these studies spoke under agreement that his anonymity be preserved. He said that it was quite easy to tell the government-constructed compound from the real thing, and doubted very much whether the intended market will ever accept the new wonder of science.Because, as he so bluntly put it, it "tastes like cat's piss!"At the time of this printing, despite such reactions, the government is still intent upon enforcing this new health directive. We will bring you further developments as they occur."
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by English Onlooker on February 07, 2001 at 17:09:45 PT
Suppressing the 'high' is crucial to these people
What is the value of the anti-depressant market to the pharmaceutical multi-nationals? Many billions £ and $ for sure.A legal pharmaceutical cannabis product that contained the 'high' would inevitably end up being prescribed 'off-label' as an anti-depressment\anti-anxiety\sedative etc.There's a lot of money at stake for these people. Both the US and UK are digging their heels in on this 'no high' fraud.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on February 07, 2001 at 15:27:16 PT:
War on an Herb
Cannabis treats nausea. Cannabis is an herb. It has an interesting side effect. It makes people happy and laugh at bureaucratic idiots who seek to persecute users of the herb. None of this makes any sense unless there are financial interests at work, or these people are fundamentally sadistic, or both. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by FoM on February 07, 2001 at 15:02:24 PT
My 2 cents
I'm very tired of these articles but this is the news unfortunately. Why doesn't someone call them out and make them stop with saying that there is no evidence that Cannabis is helpful. They say one thing and then turn it around and say something totally different and off the wall. Getting rid of the high part bothers me because Cannabis helps with a persons mood. Aren't we supposed to be a happy nation of people? Then let people have their medicine.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by zenarch on February 07, 2001 at 15:00:02 PT
anyone ever hear of . . . .
The Kirksville Church of Osteopathic Quackery in Missouri?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by zenarch on February 07, 2001 at 14:53:56 PT
Here's memory loss for ya!
. . . Use of the illegal drug for medicinal purposes has had a long and controversial history . . . .What was the controversy before the Drug Nazi's gained control of the federal government?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by observer on February 07, 2001 at 14:39:09 PT
Gov't Propaganda Pretexts to Jail Cannabis Users
By isolating the receptor through which marijuana suppresses vomiting, called cannabinoid 1 (CB1), scientists can now develop synthetic drugs that mimic the benefits of marijuana without the side effects of the illegal drug,... Thereby preserving the pretext that vicious and lying government thugs use to steal from, kill, and destroy adults who peacefully and privately use cannabis.says the study's author. . . . funded by the National Institute on Drug AbuseThere we go ... another NIDA propaganda "research" project, designed to maintain public confusion and complacence over the jailing of people for using cannabis. 
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: